The BT Global Challege 2000-2001 aboard 'Spirit of Hong Kong'
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Bewteen September the 10th 2000 and June 30th 2001 I was fortunate enough to be a crew member onboard ocean racing yacht 'Spirit of Hong Kong' participating in the BT Global Challenge 2000. The BT Global Challenge, dubbed 'The World's Toughest Yacht Race' is a unique event allowing amateur sailors (even those who have never sailed before) from all backgrounds to race around the globe against the prevailing winds and currents onboard a fleet of 12 72-foot, one design steel yachts. The race started and finished in Southampton, UK and stopped off at Boston, USA; Buenos Aires in Argentina; Wellington, New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Capetown, South Africa and La Rochelle in France. The route took in the 2 great capes (Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope) and some of the most hostile stretches of water on the planet.
It is impossible to do an event like this justice on the web, but this part of my website contains (uncorrected and unedited) the emails I wrote whilst at sea and recounts what I, and the rest of the crew aboard Spirit, were going through at various stages of the race. An event such as this would have never happened without the dedication, support, tenacity and at times shear bloody-mindedness of so many hundreds of different people, both onshore and afloat. You know who you are, and all your effort and support were greatly appreciated. Thank you.
The official race website, which, at the time of writing (17/6/2002) is still online can be found at www.btchallenge.com, and the race organisers who are into a load of other ventures as well at www.challengebusiness.com. All pictures are copyright (c) British Telecommunications plc 2001, and all rights are reserved.
To read the emails, click on the red spots on the map which mark the position we were in when they were written.
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